Arizona leaders called for a better federal solution to immigration problems in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court striking down several provisions of Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 law, which aimed to get local and state police more involved with immigration enforcement.

The court struck down most provisions of the law, leaving primarily only the ability of local law enforcement to stop and question suspected illegal immigrants.

Gov. Jan Brewer was expected to speak about the ruling at 11 a.m. this morning. She was a strong supporter of SB 1070 as it was written.

Business leaders from the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Greater Phoenix Leadership and the Southern Arizona Leadership Council took the tack that the state should move on and allow the federal government to work on solutions to illegal immigration.

Below is the statement from Todd Sanders, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce; Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Tom Franz, president and CEO of Greater Phoenix Leadership; and Ron Shoopman, president of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council.

“With today’s ruling upholding a portion SB 1070, we are confident that police agencies across the state, under guidance from the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, will enforce this element of SB 1070 fairly, professionally and always within the spirit and letter of the law

“We applaud the Arizona Legislature for focusing its attention on economic recovery in the recently-completed legislative session. We will strongly encourage the next Legislature to maintain this focus on job creation and economic development.

“The need for a federal solution to our immigration challenges remains, as states could seek to craft their own immigration policies, resulting in a confusing patchwork of laws across the nation. No state, including Arizona, can solve the immigration problem in isolation.

“We maintain our call for Congress and the President to come together on a meaningful immigration plan that secures our borders and meets our nation’s labor needs through a visa program that supports a range of workforce needs from seasonal to highly skilled workers and entrepreneurs.”

Arizona Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain, both Republicans, also released a joint statement, saying while the one component stood, the state and federal government should work together to find a solution.

Their statement is below.

“While we still want to fully review the Supreme Court’s decision, today’s ruling appears to validate a key component of Arizona’s immigration law, SB 1070. The Arizona law was born out of the state’s frustration with the burdens that illegal immigration and continued drug smuggling impose on its schools, hospitals, criminal justice system and fragile desert environment, and an administration that chooses to set enforcement policies based on a political agenda, not the laws as written by Congress. We will continue our efforts on behalf of the citizens of Arizona to secure our southern border. We believe Arizonans are better served when state and federal officials work as partners to protect our citizens rather than as litigants in a courtroom.”

Former Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon, a Republican who is running again in the state's 5th Congressional District, also questioned a path forward on immigration, and said it has to be taken up at the federal level.

"I applaud the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the key provision of SB 1070," Salmon said in a statement. "While today's ruling is a victory for supporters of the 10th Amendment and those who believe in the rule of law, it still does not solve our border security problems. As terrorism threats and drug cartel violence intensifies daily, our border states remain frustrated with the federal government's failure to address this issue and to neglect their constitutional role of securing our borders. This is the reason why states such as Arizona have taken it upon themselves to passing laws aimed at curbing illegal immigration. From my first day back in Congress, I will ensure the federal government will no longer ignore this issue, and will lead the fight to provide security on our borders immediately."

Jeff Flake, a Republican former Arizona congressman who is running for the seat being vacated by Kyl, threw the blame at President Barack Obama and his administration for failing to act on the federal responsibility of immigration.

"It’s troubling to me and to Arizonans that the Obama administration has wasted time and taxpayer money in court, rather than fulfilling its responsibility to secure the border," Flake said in a statement. "Arizona will have to continue to wait until we have an administration that will exert the leadership to do what needs to be done to secure the border."

Dr. Richard Carmona, a Southern Arizona Democrat and former U.S. Surgeon General who is running for Kyl's seat, said in a statement he believed it was time for both parties to provide for some kind of comprehensive immigration reform.

“For decades, politicians in Washington have talked about this problem, but nothing ever gets done and Arizonans continue to shoulder the burden of a broken immigration system. SB 1070 is a product of the federal government’s failure to act. Today’s ruling does not help us secure the border, and it does not provide a solution for the 400,000 undocumented people living in Arizona.”

“As a deputy sheriff of a border county, I’ve witnessed first hand the human cost of not having a workable solution. I’ve seen the results of the violence and drugs, and I know the terrible toll that has taken on our community. But SB 1070 doesn’t help local law enforcement fix the problem. It's a distraction that hinders our ability to build trust with the communities we serve.”

"Our immigration problems are complex, but the solutions are simple: secure the border, develop a pathway to earn legal status and enact the DREAM Act. Leadership on this issue takes courage, but it also requires politicians to stop using immigration as a wedge issue to score political points."

“It wasn't long ago that two diametrically opposed leaders -- President George W. Bush and the late Senator Ted Kennedy -- came together to try to solve the problem. There was even a time when Senator John McCain and Congressman Jeff Flake favored a comprehensive approach that was practical and fair. It’s going to take a more honest debate and the political will to get it done – and that’s what’s been missing in Washington.”

The Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which had been a plaintiff the lawsuit against the law, said while it respected the decision, the Supreme Court's ruling did not clarify issues regarding illegal immigration.

The AZHCC's statement is below.

While the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce respects the Justices' decision on SB 1070, the ruling fails to resolve the critical and pressing matter of how to best regulate and maintain an appropriate degree of immigration into the United States, including issues involving our nation's unquestionable need for a ready pool of labor at every level of the U.S. economy.

Throughout our history, immigrants have been valuable contributors to the nation's economic development and prosperity. The failure to correct the shortcomings of current U.S. immigration policy threatens to limit economic growth in Arizona and across the country. A state-by-state patchwork of immigration laws across the United States is wholly impractical for employers and local law enforcement to implement because of the unreasonable financial and bureaucratic burden it places on businesses, law enforcement and local governments.

We call on Congress and the President to assume what we continue to believe is the federal government's exclusive responsibility to enact a national immigration policy that promotes U.S. economic growth and respects the rights and contributions of immigrants and their families. We also urge Arizona's public officials not to enact additional state-based immigration legislation.

As plaintiffs in the Friendly House, et. al v Whiting federal lawsuit against SB 1070, we believe the implementation of the law, especially its "show us your papers" provision, will lead to further social tensions, including the potential mistreatment of immigrants, that further exacerbates a negative image of Arizona that does not foster a business friendly environment and hinders the ability for people to put in an honest day's work. It is important to note that the Supreme Court's decision on SB 1070 does not directly impact several aspects of the Friendly House et al. v. Whiting et al. lawsuit, which addresses a variety of constitutional challenges to the Arizona legislation.

The Arizona Catholic Conference, saying that they agreed that the law should have been overturned and the federal government ultimately should be responsible for immigration enforcement and reform.

Many business leaders, community leaders, and religious leaders in our State have indicated from the beginning that SB1070 is not good for our State and not good law in that the federal government not the State holds responsibility to pass and uphold immigration policy.

The Supreme Court decision substantially upheld that viewpoint by invalidating three of four challenged provisions of SB 1070. The Supreme Court did however uphold, at least for the time being, the provision which permits state law enforcement personnel to determine the immigration status of any person stopped, detained, or arrested if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is not lawfully in the United States, and to verify the immigration status of any person arrested before releasing that person.

We believe that this provision of the law will not enhance security, benefit the economy of our state, or foster its well-being. Rather this provision might separate families, create the possibility of racial profiling even if unintended by the law, heighten fear in the immigrant community, jeopardize community policing, and not fix the federal immigration policy which many across the political spectrum have said is broken.

The bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference, along with many others, are convinced that immigration policy is the responsibility of the federal government assuring that there is no great discrepancy throughout the nation on how immigrants are treated.

The Arizona bishops will continue to work with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in advocating for comprehensive immigration policy reform that will address needed border security to protect our nation from drug and human trafficking, provide legal avenues for workers to assist employers in our country, and to resolve the legal status of nearly 12 million law abiding people who now live in the shadows.

The Supreme Court decision places the responsibility on our law enforcement organizations in Arizona to implement the upheld provision of the law responsibly, fairly, and without discrimination.

It is important that people remain calm and know their rights and how to respond appropriately. Our parishes and Catholic social agencies are ready to assist those with questions and concerns.